In a remote teller system, a financial services center is provided by a financial institution, and has a video link to a remote person (the remote teller). The video link is typically provided via a first network connection (typically an IP network so that it can support the high bandwidth requirements of video). The FSC includes various peripheral devices, such as a signature capture device, a passport reader, and a coin dispenser, to enable a wide range of financial services to be provided at the FSC.
The FSC also includes an automated teller machine (ATM) that is connected to a remote transaction host in a conventional manner, typically by a second network connection. The second network connection may comprise an IP network, or it may comprise a legacy network (such as an SNA network) that is not compatible with IP networks, and does not support the real-time video transmission needed for interaction with the remote teller.
One type of remote teller system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,814,016.
A customer at an FSC who wants to withdraw funds from his/her account has two options.
Firstly, the customer can use the ATM by inserting his/her ATM card and withdraw funds from his/her account in a conventional ATM transaction. The ATM dispenses cash to the ATM cardholder after obtaining authorization from the remote host (via the second network connection), without contacting the remote teller.
Secondly, the customer can receive cash from the FSC by authenticating him/herself to the remote teller. For example, the customer may present a driver's license to a video camera so that the remote teller can confirm that the customer is who he/she claims to be. Once authenticated, the customer can request dispensing of cash, and the remote teller can authorize dispensing of the requested amount by accessing the financial institution's account records. This is similar to what a teller at a conventional bank branch would do if a customer requested funds from his/her account. The remote teller can then instruct the ATM in the FSC to dispense funds to the customer. Thus, the ATM can receive a dispense funds instruction from either the remote teller or the remote host.
The ability to dispense funds in response to commands from two different sources has the disadvantage that that the remote host may not be aware of how much funds the ATM has dispensed because authorization to dispense some funds may have come from the remote teller rather than from the remote host.
If the remote host is not aware of how much funds have been dispensed by the ATM (within the FSC), then the remote host (or a management system that accesses the remote host to obtain information about the cash remaining in the ATM) may not schedule replenishment of the ATM in a timely manner. In other words, replenishment may not occur until the funds in the ATM have reached a critically low level, or have been fully dispensed.
There is also the problem of reconciling the funds dispensed by authorization from the remote teller and the funds dispensed by authorization from the remote host.
It would be helpful to obviate or mitigate one or more of the above disadvantages or other disadvantages associated with remote teller systems.